Palestinian journalists: We condemn the continued Israeli ban on foreign media entering the Gaza Stri
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The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the continued Israeli occupation forces’ ban on foreign journalists entering the Gaza Strip for the third consecutive year.
In a statement issued Thursday, the syndicate said this ban stems from a decision by the Israeli occupation government and the endorsement of its highest court. The court reversed its previous decision, made at its last session last year, to require a clear plan for foreign press access to Gaza by January 4th. Instead, it upheld the Israeli occupation government’s request to maintain the ban.
The syndicate asserted that this decision is part of a systematic policy aimed at isolating the Gaza Strip from the world and concealing the truth about the genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the occupation in the Strip, in what it described as one of the most serious contemporary crimes against press freedom.
The syndicate emphasized that this ban constitutes a blatant violation and flagrant breach of international agreements, particularly the Geneva Conventions and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
She emphasized that preventing journalists from entering Gaza is not a “security measure,” as the occupation claims, but rather a tool of political repression aimed at concealing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and grave violations committed against journalists, which have resulted in the deaths of 257 journalists since the beginning of the aggression in October 2023.
She called on international press unions and federations, as well as foreign governments, to take a firm and practical stance, and not to be satisfied with mere statements of condemnation.
She stressed the necessity for international judicial institutions to compel the occupation to immediately cease this ban and to hold it accountable for its repeated violations of international law.
She affirmed that the occupation’s continued violations will remain a stain on the international community unless they are met with genuine and deterrent measures that force it to respect international laws and norms, and the freedom of journalistic work.
